China's exclusion of monks from quake scene a tragic reminder of Beijing's airbrushing of Tibet's Panchen Lama

Renowned British cartoonist Ralph Steadman’s message on Panchen Lama’s 21^st birthday

China’s recent forced removal of Tibetan monks from the Tibet earthquake rescue effort for reasons of political expedience (1) is a tragic reminder of the much longer-standing forced disappearance of one of Tibet’s most senior spiritual figures, the 11^th Panchen Lama.

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima became the world’s youngest political prisoner in 1995 when, aged 5, he and his family were abducted by Chinese officials just days after the boy was recognised by the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of Tibet’s 10^th Panchen Lama. The boy and his family have not been seen since, despite repeated demands from international governments, the UN and EU for China to account for their whereabouts and well-being.

This Sunday (25 April) marks the reaching of adulthood by the Panchen Lama who will be spending his 21^st birthday under captivitity at an undisclosed location. China’s ongoing detention of the Panchen Lama is a crime not only against a boy who should be celebrating reaching adulthood; it is also a crime against the entire Tibetan people for whom his absence from Tibet’s religious and political life is a source of great distress.

Reflecting on the tragedy of the Panchen Lama’s ongoing detention, renowned British cartoonist, Ralph Steadman, commented to Free Tibet:

“So young- so vulnerable- and utterly defenceless- his prize of youth ebbing away simply by being chosen by cruel fate as a figure of significant spiritual importance to the Tibetan people.”

But Beijing’s long-standing forced disappearance of the Panchen Lama is emblematic of a wider Chinese campaign to airbrush all evidence of Tibetan leaders who speak for Tibetans.  As with its abduction of the Panchen Lama, the Chinese leadership’s determination to remove from view all evidence of Tibetan leadership, regardless of the offence and grief caused to Tibetans at a time of immense tragedy, was again in evidence this week in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake in Tibet. A personal plea from the Dalai Lama to be allowed to travel to the site of the earthquake to help comfort survivors and those who had lost loved ones has met with a stony silence from the Chinese authorities.

And a recent AP article (2) reported that Tibetan monks who had played a vital role in the rescue effort following the Tibet earthquake had been ordered to leave the region by the Chinese authorities. AP reported that no monks were to be seen in extensive coverage on state television of mourning ceremonies which instead emphasised the Chinese role in the relief effort by showing Chinese flags at half-mast and featuring the speech made by Qinghai’s Communist Party Secretary at a ceremony in Yushu.

Speaking in advance of the Panchen Lama’s 21^st birthday, Free Tibet Director Stephanie Brigden said:

“China’s 16 year long incarceration of a boy, and this week’s playing of politics with Tibet’s earthquake tragedy, underlines the simple fact that there is not even the slightest shred of legitimacy to Chinese rule in Tibet where Tibetans long for the release of the Panchen Lama and the return from exile of the Dalai Lama.”

Ends

For further information:

Matt Whitticase, External Communications

t +44 (0)20 7324 4605 / +44 (0)7515 788456 and email: matt@freetibet.org

Stephanie Brigden, Director

t +44 (0)20 7324 4605 / +44 (0)7530 528264 and email: stephanie@freetibet.org

Notes to Editor:

1)    More information on the order given by the Chinese authorities for monks leading the rescue effort to leave the area stricken by the earthquake is available at: http://www.freetibet.org/newsmedia/210410 More information from Free Tibet on the Tibet Earthquake is available at: http://www.freetibet.org/newsmedia/earthquake-eastern-tibet

2)    The AP article is available at: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gdspdDB0WaMv_An4A-NvHB_DwmCwD9F7CLVO0